Pioneering WPI sports field project was tougher than it looks

Saturday

Oct 5, 2013 at 1:38 PMOct 5, 2013 at 2:56 PM

It wasn't as simple as slapping a carpet of artificial turf on the roof. The state's first parking garage with rooftop playing fields, recently opened at the northwest corner of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus, was a deceptively complex undertaking.

By Shaun Sutner, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — It wasn't as simple as slapping a carpet of artificial turf on the roof.

The state's first parking garage with rooftop playing fields, recently opened at the northwest corner of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute campus, was a deceptively complex undertaking.

Architects from around New England at a conference in the city Saturday absorbed the lessons of the unique project from the main people who made it happen.

Alfredo DiMauro, an architect and WPI's assistant vice president for facilities, and Robert Hicks, the project's architect with Cambridge-based SMMA, kicked off the daylong conference at the Hilton Garden Inn with an in-depth look at what it took to bring the $21 million project to fruition in a year.

Among other challenges, they had to win over dubious residents worried about what Mr. DiMauro said they initially thought of as a "monstrosity," move earth, blast ledge, find a way to remove torrents of stormwater, and allay city officials's concerns about traffic and other spinoffs.

The single-level garage, which is mostly at street level along Park Avenue, opened in January. The playing fields were made available for use over the summer and are now in full swing.

"The neighbors and city were very concerned about what the impact was going to be," Mr. Hicks said to the room of about 40 architects at the morning session. The event was sponsored by AIA Central Massachusetts, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Project executives also had to figure out how to put NCAA-regulation soccer and softball fields on top of a 525-spot parking garage while providing locker and rest rooms, concessions, moveable bleachers and storage.

The fields are also for field hockey, rugby and lacrosse; they are used by eight varsity sports teams, nine club teams and four intramural leagues, so durability of the turf was an issue.

To lessen traffic congestion at the frenetic intersection of Park Avenue and Salisbury Street, designers put in decelerate and acceleration lanes.

To promote safety in the access road past the First Baptist Church that abuts the complex and runs a busy day care operation, they installed traffic bumps and "tables."

To control light spill over into the surrounding neighborhood, they performed photometric studies and used LED lights and motion-activated bulbs.

And while a row of 40-foot pine trees was removed from Park Avenue to make way for the buildings, new pines and firs, some 25 feet tall, have been planted in their stead — pleasing neighbors.

Mr. DMauro explained that while the new parking generally is closed to resident students, it has alleviated a campus parking crunch by giving faculty members and workers a secure place to stash their vehicles and dedicating as many as 250 spots for family members and visitors to sporting events and conferences.

The building has also allowed the school — which prides itself on its environmentally conscious architecture — to further "green" itself removing surface parking on campus.

As for the "green" qualities of the parking-sports hybrid, that is somewhat of a sore subject because during construction, the U.S. Green Building Council eliminated "LEED," or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, classification for parking garages, Mr. DiMauro said.